The Great Outdoors Around Brisbane

Carol and I recently decided to go for a walk after work, like we often do. Brisbane is such a walkable city with paths and plenty of nice scenery. Of course, the amazing weather helps too. We decided to take a slightly different route than usual to try and seek out the Roma Street Parklands, which are just at the edge of the CBD, about 15 minutes walking from our apartment.

When we got there, we really weren’t exactly sure what to expect. Having been to the botanic gardens many times already, I was told the Roma Street Parklands were more formal and all around supposed to be better kept. It didn’t take us more than a few minutes of walking around to realize just how absolutely beautiful the park is! The park is long and not too wide but has a rather large change in elevation from the top to the bottom. We started at the top where you’ll find plenty of formal gardens, themed gardens, plants from all over the world and statues. Even the lawns looked like they were neatly tended by the Augusta greenskeeper.

Wandering down from there are several more layers of slightly larger and thicker gardens, an amphitheater easily seating a few hundred and some deeper forested areas. Carol and I decided it was time to head into the big trees in the “Fern Gully”. (Yes, that’s right, there are actually signs everywhere that call it the Fern Gully. Anyone else remember the scene where they all sing Land of 1,000 Dances? Man it took a long time to stop thinking about that…) Considering it was dusk, we walked our way down the bridges and paths, through the huge overhanging leaves, meanwhile, debating who was going to walk first because neither of us wanted spider webs in our face. And the spiders here are HUGE. Once we got out of that area, which actually became quite nerve wracking as the sun pretty much set with huge thick greenery over our heads and we couldn’t see where we were going, we started to check out the assortment of ponds that dot the bottom portion of the park. At the very bottom is a large open grassy field which looks absolutely perfect for a touch football game. Down in this area we must have seen at least half a dozen different groups of people working out. Some of the groups were pretty large (15-20 people) and most looked like there was a trainer or leader. Right next to this area was a number of public barbeques (i.e. - grills) and quite a few people who decided it was a great night to have a barbie.

What a wonderful city! We’re finding out more about it all the time. The outdoorsy feeling here is very much like Chicago in the summer, only I have the feeling it lasts much longer than about three months here. We use our balcony nearly every day – often for dinner but sometimes to just relax after work with a frosty beverage. The outdoor culture lends itself very well to sports, with tennis courts, swimming pools, rugby fields, cricket grounds, and golf courses found all over the area and open year round. I’ve played golf the last two weekends (take that golfers back home! two rounds for the year and it’s February!) and the courses here seem to be in good shape and are relatively quite affordable. I picked up a decent set of used clubs today for dirt cheap and plan to use them all year long.

We keep seeing wildlife around the city, which is honestly a bit odd for as metropolitan as Brisbane is. Here is a small running list:
-Ibis
-Kookaburras
-Possum (an unrelated and far better looking version of the opossum)
-Bush turkeys
-Big lizards, medium lizards, small lizards, leaping lizards…
-Flying foxes (huge fruit bats)
-Kangaroos (ok, not really in the city but just outside)
-Turtles
-Cockatoos (so loud and annoying in the middle of your backswing)
-Big frogs

and…

-BIG ASS SPIDERS

We’ll keep adding more as we see them.

Cuddling with Koalas, Kangaroos, and Emus!

On Valentine's Day Jason and I decided to take a bus over to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It is just outside Brisbane so it didn't take us long to get there. The Sanctuary has 130 koalas and other animals like kangaroos, emus, sheep, dingos, Tasmanian devils, snakes, echidnas, small crocodiles and Jason's favorite, wombats. I don't know why he likes wombats so much. They are really ugly.

Wombat

We got up super early and were one of the first people in the park! The biggest attraction of the park is that you can hold a koala! I was the first one in line at the koala holding station. One of the animal keepers went straight up to a sleepy koala took him off of his post and brought him over to me. She picked up the koala by its arms but it didn't seem to bother the lethargic animal because she immediately put the koala on me and he fell asleep again. He probably thought I was a tree. You could put these animals on anything as long as it has something to grab on to. They sleep for 19 hours a day! The koala I got to hold was named Goblin. He was a little heavy but very soft. I didn't want to let go!

Me and Goblin

After I got my picture taken with the koala (you have to pay for one picture then you can take as many pictures as you want with your own camera) we headed over to the kangaroo grazing area. It is massive! We walked into the fenced in area and there are emus and kangaroos that you can feed. We bought some food before we entered the gate so we could get up close and personal with the animals. Jason was interested by the Emu but I thought they were kind of scary so I stayed away from them. Jason loves the unlovable animals. We walked through the large grazing area and walked up to the kangaroos that were just lounging around. You could walk right up to them and pet and feed them! There were little kids even going around hugging the kangaroos. They didn't mind at all.

Me feeding the kangaroos

Jason and the scary emu

After feeding the Kangaroos and Emu we walked the rest of the park. We saw the "retirement home" for the koalas who are 12 + years. We saw the "bachelor pad" of the male koalas who get their own trees. We saw feeding time with the crocodiles! They eat rats whole. They weren't very big crocodiles but big enough for me not to want to go near them. We saw snakes and crazy crazy birds! One in particular, the kookaburras! The laughing kookaburras. One of them had a lizard in its mouth for the whole hour we were walking through the park. He must have been showing it off. They were making so much noise I decided to take a video. Enjoy!

And to those of you who already asked, yes I am working on getting a koala shipped to the US for all to cuddle with! They are such sweet creatures!

He is going to have the worst pins and needles when he wakes up...

Job!

Just wanted to share the good news that I was offered a job and have worked four days so far including a big charity ball benefiting a local hospital.

The company consists of four people who specialize in producing events, conferences, concerts, galas, etc. throughout the Asia Pacific region. I will be an Event Coordinator to the owner/event producer. My role will be assisting in creation, implementation and execution of all the events. Currently, there are five projects being worked on, one of which is a conference for 500 people being held in Malaysia. It is a six day event held in Kuala Lumpur that will consist of opening ceremonies, three days of educational sessions/guest speakers, golf outing, gala and closing ceremonies. My event planning group is responsible for the entire implementation from accommodations to producing the ceremonies, to arranging guest speakers, etc. The company's portfolio is unbelievable and I look forward to not only being an asset to the team but learning A LOT.

Funny story of how I found this opportunity. Before I left my last job, I asked my co-workers if they had any work contacts in the Brisbane area. After receiving four names I emailed all of them and they all responded. One of them emailed me a scanned copy of the Event Management page in their equivalent Yellow Pages book. There were about 100 contacts so I narrowed down the selection by looking at the companies that had websites listed. I looked at all of them and narrowed them down a handful in walking/public transport distance of our apartment. Then, I decided to email the one with the most appealing website/clients/portfolio. This happened to be the company I am now working for. I emailed the owner, sent him my resume, letter of recommendation from my previous supervisor, and asked if he had any positions opened. He emailed me back that night and said that he went to IU and graduated from the music school in '82!!!! My jaw literally dropped. We instantly had an immediate connection. He then informed me that he promoted his event assistant and invited me in for an interview. I found out he is an Australian and was given a scholarship to study at IU. We talked about the small company and the events he has hosted and even conducted! The list of performers that he has collaborated with is quite impressive - Frank Sinatra being one! Later on that week I came back for a second interview. After he told me about the stories of him and his Wilkie dorm buddies using a window washer crane to hoist a keg to the top of the roof for a keg party, he offered me the position.

Jason and I are so much more relieved now! The best part is I will get the opportunity to travel with this company so I'm super pumped! If all works out as I hope, this really should be the dream job I was looking for in the US.

New Apartment and Job News

After some nerve wracking searching for a home, we finally found an apartment!  It seems Carol and I have the same priority when we’re looking at a place – we want a view!  The building we’re in is a relatively new residential high rise and we managed to get a little studio / one bedroom about two thirds the way up the building.  I call it a studio / one bedroom because there is a sliding door that sections off the bed area and the living area.  Perhaps the best feature of the place is the deck.  I would guess it’s in the neighborhood of 2m x 4m or about 6.5ft x 13ft.  Our view faces south, overlooking the Brisbane river that snakes its way through the city.  Off to our right is the CBD and to the left is the Story Bridge that connects it to Kangaroo Point.  We’ve only been here for a week and we can already tell how much we love to sit outside, much on some cheese and crackers and have a drink!

The building itself has excellent amenities, including a heated lap pool and a gym.  There is also an open patio in the back of the building with barbeques that overlook the river and the city.  We are particularly excited about the location because it sits between several neighborhoods, including the CBD.  Taking the elevator down from our unit, we can walk through the foyer and down a set of stairs onto a great boardwalk that runs along the river.  A two minute walk takes us into a string of about 10 or 15 clubs and restaurants that line the river.  We’ve gone out for drinks a few times there and have eaten at one restaurant.  Continuing on the walk takes you to the Botanic Gardens.

Brisbane is definitely focused on the outdoor culture.  The days are hot but the evenings are quite comfortable.  It’s currently the middle of summer and every evening sees temperatures in the mid 70s F or mid 20s C.  Since we’re higher up, we tend to leave the sliding doors to our deck open in the evening to let the air and the slight breeze into the room.  We have yet to have any problems with bugs whatsoever.   The sun comes up early here (5am) and it definitely has an influence on getting people out of bed.  Looking out over the boardwalk, there are always some people out for a run or biking before the heat starts to set in.  It gets hot by 11am but begins to cool again around 4pm.  As long as you can avoid doing much outside during those hours, it’s a very comfortable climate.  All this brings me to one conclusion: I have no reason not to get in shape!  I can run (several paths, parks, and the boardwalk), I can lift weights (facility in building) and swim laps (facility in building).  If I don’t leave this place looking like a million bucks, it’s nobody’s fault but mine!

In other good news, Carol got a job!  I’ll let her fill in all the details, including the strange way she landed the position.  It sounds like an outstanding opportunity for her to take on an apprentice type role and really get her hands dirty with real clients, big events and serious budgets.

Fun in the Suburbs

Even though there is a lot to do when you move to a new country you still have to make sure you are having fun!

As Jason mentioned below, we were lucky to have an immediate friend upon arrival - Damian. He unfortunately will only be in Brisbane for 10 days as he is at the end of his journey and moving back to the States. Not only has he shown us the ropes for how to get settled, he also took us on a great adventure to the beaches!! Unfortunately, the beaches aren't the easiest places to get to especially if you don't have a car. Luckily Damian rented a car for his last weekend in Brisbane and he took us to the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.

On Saturday we drove to the Gold Coast which took about an hour. We ended up at Surfers Paradise beach. There are 35 beaches that stretch from the north of Surfers Paradise to the Rainbow Bay, south of Coolangatta. The beaches are open 365 days a year.

The sunshine felt so good especially after moving from dark cold Chicago! We didn't spend much time in the water as there were hundreds of blue bottle jellyfish (stingies as they are called here) washed up on the beach. Jason has been stung by a jellyfish in every body of water he has swam in (Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean) so I tried to not get too close to him. The waves weren't very big but there were two groups of people learning to surf. We saw four surfers come out of the water with jelly fish on them. The surf instructors were able to get the stingies off of their students by filling their hands with sand and brushing the jelly fish off.

To stay away from the stingies we walked the board walk and the shops. The Gold Coast is known as the place where wealthy families vacation so there are lots of high end designer stores and expensive condos. We were quite surprised at the size of the skyscraper buildings that were all residential. They did provide some good shade for us though :)

On our way back from the beach Damian took us through a scenic drive of Tamborine Mountain. It was a unique experience to go from hanging out in the ocean to driving through wild kangaroo-infested country side to hauling the little Corolla up a windy mountain side road that ended at a tropical rain forest. On the way back down the mountain we kept our windows down so we could hear the foreign animal noises.

 The following day Damian took us to Mooloolaba beach on the Sunshine Coast. Yes, Mooloolaba. We love the names here they are so much fun to say - Maroochydore, Pimpama, Woombye, Mudjimba, and the list goes on. Anyway, the Sunshine Coast was our favorite by far. The people seemed more relaxed and casual, the water was warmer and there were no stingies washed up on the beach. We spent lots of time in the water and enjoyed riding the waves. When we got out of the water we saw two people who got stung by stingies. One was on a girls face! Yikes! We of course had to finish the day by getting ice cream which is really good here. We went on another but shorter scenic drive and saw pineapple fields! Who knew pineapples came from the ground?

Believe it or not, we didn't spend too much time in the sun. For those of you who don't know, there is literally a hole in the Ozone layer here so the sun is extremely harsh. The good thing is that Australians seem to be very aware of this (except for the sun tanned faces of the extreme surfers) and we haven't seen too many really tan people. The Australian government does a great job reminding people of how strong the sun is with their fear inflicting commercials on TV. They have graphic images of how melanoma can form in your body, how it spreads and how it can kill you. It makes me step in the shade when I think about it. The Australian government has some other very graphic and fear inflicting commercials as well relating to drunk driving. They also have very disturbing billboards with images of mangled innocent people after a wreckless car accident. These advertisements are in many locations and I've seen these commercials several times a week.

Well these have been some of the adventures and observations we've had since we got here a week and a half ago. Check out the video of the sunshine coast (kinda lame) and some pictures we took :)